Hybrid

There are major problems with your editorial on the departure of Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston and the selection of the Baltimore County Board of Education ("Rethinking oversight," Oct. 16). First, it was the 12-member legislative task force, not the public, that could not "coalesce" behind a new selection process. Public opinion has been very clear, not only in meetings, but also through hundreds of phone calls, e-mails, letters and conversations over the past few years that BCPS is essentially dysfunctional and not directly accountable to the public.

Legislation to add elected members to the all-appointed Baltimore County school board cleared the state Senate on Thursday. Under the amended House bill, which passed the Senate 34-9, the school board would have six elected members and five members appointed by the governor, said state Sen. Bobby Zirkin. The Pikesville Democrat had sponsored a Senate measure to create a partially elected school board. The County Council would draw election districts in consultation with the county school board, he said.

Alexander Severinsky thought he had escaped long waits for basic goods when his family fled the Soviet Union in 1978. But barely a year later he found himself in his Oldsmobile Cutlass, in the Texas heat, at the end of a line of cars waiting to gas up. "I just came from Russia a year ago, where I stand in lines for food, and now what changed? I'm back in line, only for fuel," he said, laughing, in his accented English. Better fuel efficiency, he reasoned, could boost gas supplies and end the lines.

The Anne Arundel County delegation to the General Assembly has voted to approve a House bill that would transform the county's school board from its current nine-member, all-appointed model to a body with five elected and four appointed members. Delegate Steve Schuh, a Republican who co-sponsored the bill with Republican delegate Tony McConkey, said the bill calls for five seats elected by district, three at-large seats and one student board member seat. Schuh said the measure would be phased in over time as current board members' tenures lapse.

If GM's problems make you think America's love affair with cars may over, you should stop by Russell Toyota on Route 40 West in Baltimore and have a chat with Andy Seidenman, the sales manager. Seidenman's problem is finding cars, not customers. Like other Toyota dealers across the nation, he has trouble keeping the Prius, Toyota's hybrid-engine car, on his showroom floor. The widely praised Prius, which promises 51 miles to the gallon on the highway at a time when gasoline is retailing for between $2.20 and $2.30 a gallon, has become wildly popular.

An Anne Arundel County official, Robert L. Walker, got a new county car this week: a Honda Civic Hybrid, which uses gasoline-electric technology to get nearly 50 miles per gallon. It's the first hybrid car bought by the county, which plans to buy two more and evaluate their performance. It cost about $19,000, said Matt Diehl, a spokesman for County Executive Janet S. Owens. "We are taking a small but important step to improve air quality by encouraging others to consider low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles," said Owens, who is driven around in a Ford Crown Victoria.

There are a lot of attributes to consider in a new car: the color, the engine, the brake system and something that's topping just about everyone's list - fuel efficiency. In fact, with gas prices averaging roughly $3, according to the American Automobile Association (compared to $2.37 a year ago and just a few cents shy of the record high set last fall), you might be tempted to base your search entirely on the number listed next to miles per gallon. Naturally, that would make hybrid vehicles, which rely on electricity stored in a battery for some of their power, a first choice.

After watching the Prius hybrid fly out of dealer showrooms the last six years, Toyota has started to nudge consumers with zero-percent financing and lease deals because supply has caught up with demand. Until recently, most Toyota dealers had waiting lists of two to three months for the fuel-efficient Prius, the most popular gas/electric hybrid model. But at the end of January, dealers had a 30-day supply, or about 10,000 vehicles, based on January sales. Toyota quietly launched its first incentives on the Prius at the end of last month and has extended the offers until Feb. 28, though it doesn't plan national advertising to promote the program.

In the latest government incentive geared toward reducing vehicle emissions and gas use, Baltimore officials will announce today plans to nearly halve the cost of parking in city garages for owners of hybrid cars. Fifteen city garages, from Little Italy to Pennsylvania Station, will take part in the program, which knocks up to $85 off the price of monthly parking contracts for hybrid owners starting Monday. The city is also considering reducing meter prices for hybrids. More than a dozen states and a handful of cities offer breaks that encourage drivers to purchase fuel-efficient cars, such as tax credits, less stringent inspections and access to lanes usually reserved for carpools.

As sport utility vehicles and other gas guzzlers motored by on Key Highway yesterday, proponents of "green" technology showcased a new breed of automobile on Rash Field., Some are small and spacey - like George Jetson's car but with wheels and a solar panel roof. Others, such as the Honda and Toyota hybrid-fuel vehicles on the market, won't stand out as much in parking lots. The vehicles, on display today at a festival sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, run on sun, hydrogen, electricity and even vegetable oil - the "greasecar" conversion system that Justin Carven sells uses old cooking oil thrown out by restaurants.

The "Vampire Diaries" comeback was awful. So awful that I can't even think of any bad comebacks to compare it to.   The most interesting thing that happened is Jeremy was totally badass.     “I shot a hybrid in the back and chopped his head off with a meat cleaver. Typical Sunday, huh?” Jeremy says. (Watching it happen was so much better!)   Unfortunately, Jeremy's change of character doesn't go over well with Elena.   “Vampires, hybrids and originals: No problem.

Greg Cangialosi, a Baltimore entrepreneur who sold his email marketing company this year after a 10-year success streak, is hoping to help jump-start the next big startups in Baltimore. Cangialosi is teaming up with Sean Lane, chief executive of BTS Corp., a fast-growing software company in Locust Point, to launch what they're calling a hybrid accelerator. Their goal: Make small investments in several startups, germinate their own ideas, and help nurture the city's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

There are major problems with your editorial on the departure of Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston and the selection of the Baltimore County Board of Education ("Rethinking oversight," Oct. 16). First, it was the 12-member legislative task force, not the public, that could not "coalesce" behind a new selection process. Public opinion has been very clear, not only in meetings, but also through hundreds of phone calls, e-mails, letters and conversations over the past few years that BCPS is essentially dysfunctional and not directly accountable to the public.

A state lawmaker from Howard County killed a proposal to restructure the local school board Wednesday, amid strong opposition from residents, parent-teacher groups and sitting members of the education panel. Del. Frank Turner withdrew a plan that would have changed the makeup of the board to include two appointed members and five elected by district. The board now has seven members elected at large. Turner said he did not plan to revisit the matter before the 2014 election. He said he made the decision in light of the concerns he heard about the measure.

In 1972, Howard County citizens voted to change from an appointed Board of Education to a nonpartisan, elected, at-large board. Since then, independent, elected boards have developed and supported educational policies that have created a school system considered to be among the best in the United States. Our schools are an economic asset as well as the primary reason families move to Howard County. Sound education policy for Howard County Public Schools requires board members to understand and serve the entire county.

Howard County school board members have agreed that they need to voice stronger opposition to a bill that would retool the seven-member, at-large, elected body to one with five members elected by district and two appointees. The bill, which requires legislative approval, will be discussed Tuesday at a public hearing. If passed during a special session this month, the legislation would take effect before the Jan. 11 school board primary filing deadline. Board Chairman Janet Siddiqui plans to testify at the hearing, and she asked board members this week for suggestions on rewording her previous testimony.

If you're a 30-year-old athlete with rippling muscles and less fat than your typical flounder, a hybrid electric bicycle is not for you. By all means, be proud you can take the steepest hills with nary a huff nor a puff. You should be a purist. Feel free to stick your nose in the air when you pass some weenie pedaling by while getting an assist from an electric motor. But if you're a few years over that age (or in my case decades), a few lamb chops over the ideal weight and nobody's mistaken you for Lance Armstrong or a female counterpart lately, it may not be such an abomination.

Working for a bank usually doesn't entitle you to free cash. But Bank of America is giving its employees $3,000 - albeit before taxes - when they purchase an environmentally friendly hybrid vehicle. That's on top of a tax credit of up to $3,150 that hybrid buyers get from the Internal Revenue Service. About 4,000 Bank of America employees in Maryland are eligible for the rebate, along with 181,000 employees nationwide. The bank hopes the program will be well-received here, one of the fastest-growing commuter areas in the country.

As The Sun recently reported ("Task force rejects having elected Baltimore Co. school board," Sept. 10), the legislative task force considering alternatives to the board selection process "abruptly decided Friday to rule out recommending the addition of elected board members. " According to the legislation establishing the task force, the charge they were to carry out was: "to make recommendations on how many members should constitute the Baltimore County Board of Education.

The Ravens don't pick a defensive coordinator. They anoint one. The man who gets to run their defense is already well versed with its tradition, is an advocate of its core principles and is eminently familiar with its personalities. For Chuck Pagano, the mantle was passed last Jan. 18, in the wake of a disquieting playoff loss in Pittsburgh after a season in which that defense was besieged — relatively speaking — with problems defending the pass. No sooner had coordinator Greg Mattison opted for a return to the University of Michigan than Pagano was tapped to replace him. Eight months and one lockout later, the back end of the Ravens' defense might be its strength.